Troy City Council passes measure requesting state investigation into the decision to close Ark Community Charter School

TROY >> Supporters of the Ark Community Charter School flooded the City Council’s chamber Thursday night, urging its members to approve a resolution requesting an investigation into the school’s pending closure.

The City Council approved the resolution in a 7-2 vote during Thursday’s regular monthly meeting after listening to several heartfelt testimonies about the school’s importance to the community.

Jim de Seve, who organized the movement and circulatied a petition to keep the school open, said the school was one that “really transformed lives.”

De Seve claimed the SUNY Board of Trustees Charter School Committee, which voted to close the school in March because it was not meeting state standards, not only failed to make a timely site visit, but also did not provide the school with proper notice regarding its decision.

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De Seve also claimed the committee closed the school based on different standards than had been used in previous years.

“As you can see, there’s great support here,” said James Mayben, a father of a student at Ark. “It’s very emotional because it is a family setting. I have never worked with a greater bunch of teachers, counselors and directors in 52 years. It’s one of the greatest experiences ever.”

The resolution, put forward by Councilman Ken Zalewski, D-District 5, at de Seve’s request, asks that the state Attorney General’s Office, the state Inspector General’s Office or the state Comptroller’s Office look into the circumstances behind the school’s pending closure.

The resolution itself, which was written by de Seve and edited by Zalewski, states that Sharon Miller Barker, the executive director of the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, failed to recuse herself from the vote.

Residents believed it was a conflict of interest due to the fact Miller Barker was the founding chairperson of the True North Troy Preparatory Charter School, which they said would directly benefit from Ark’s closure.

While the majority of council members supported the resolution, both Councilman Jim Gordon, R-District 2, and Councilwoman Lynn Kopka, D-At Large, voted against it.

Although she is a supporter of the school, Kopka said she voted against the measure because she didn’t believe the council was the proper legislative body to get involved in education policy.

Gordon said that Ark Community Charter school was on the decline, based on research he had conducted. He also added that when the resolution was first put before the council during last month’s Finance Committee meeting, the school didn’t seem to want to fight its closure, adding it hadn’t taken a final stance yet.

However, Gordon, who stated he was a strong supporter of the Lansingburgh Central School District and public schools in general, also feels that charter schools can take away funding that would otherwise go to public schools.

Gordon said Ark takes more than $1 million worth of funds each year from the LCSD and said if the number of students attending the charter school were to rise, more money would be taken from LCSD.

“I’m a strong supporter of the public school system,” Gordon said. “They provide a valuable service.”

Still, Gordon said he didn’t want his vote against the resolution to make it seem like he didn’t care about trying to help children; he has been a part of several efforts which provide services for Lansinburgh’s youth.

School supporters said it not only provides a valuable service to the students, but to their families as well.

Ark Principal Mary Theresa Streck said the vote wasn’t supposed to be about choosing charter schools over public schools; its purpose was to request an investigation into how the state committee made its decision to close the school at the end of this academic year.

“It takes an awful lot of time to get to the bottom of this,” Streck said. “I am very much in favor of this resolution and ask you to be the voice for the voiceless behind us.”